OOPT - Oxford Online Placement Reading Comprehension Flashcards

Read the passage: "Few would dispute that the new transit line has shortened commutes. Yet to call it a success is to mistake a symptom for a cure: congestion on the parallel motorway has barely changed, because the drivers who switched to rail were promptly replaced by new drivers drawn in by the freed-up road space." What is the writer's main point?

Answer: The transit line's benefits are real, but it has not dealt with the underlying traffic problem.

The writer accepts that commutes are shorter ('Few would dispute...') but argues that calling the line a success confuses easing a symptom with fixing the cause, since motorway congestion has stayed the same. Option A contradicts the first sentence. Option B is the view the writer rejects. Option D is wrong because drivers did switch; they were simply replaced by new ones.

Read the passage: "Dr. Hale's findings were greeted with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for results that confirm what everyone already believed. Within a year, three independent laboratories had failed to reproduce them." What does the writer imply about the initial reaction to Dr. Hale's findings?

Answer: The enthusiasm happened partly because the results matched existing beliefs, not because they were carefully checked.

The phrase 'the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for results that confirm what everyone already believed' suggests that people accepted the findings because they fit expectations. The failed replications that follow point to a lack of proper scrutiny. Option C reverses the meaning: the results confirmed beliefs rather than overturning them. Options B and D attribute motives that the text never mentions.

Read the passage: "The museum's decision to charge admission was defended as a means of protecting the collection. Visitor numbers have since halved, while spending on conservation remains unchanged." Which conclusion is best supported by the passage?

Answer: The stated reason for charging admission is called into question by what happened afterwards.

The charge was justified as a way to protect the collection, yet conservation spending has not changed. This casts doubt on the official reason without proving anything further. Option A claims harm the passage never mentions. Option C is a recommendation the text does not make. Option D is a guess that the passage gives no support for, and the writer's selection of facts points the other way.

Read the passage: "Marta had rehearsed her resignation speech for weeks. When the moment came, her manager thanked her for her years of service before she had said a word." What can most reasonably be inferred?

Answer: The manager already knew, or expected, that Marta was leaving.

Thanking someone for 'years of service' is something people say when that person is leaving. Because the manager said it 'before she had said a word', the manager must have already known or expected that she would go. Option C gets the order wrong, since Marta had not yet spoken. Options A and B have no support in the text.

Read the passage: "Critics of the reform argue that it will burden small businesses. This objection, however, rests on figures drawn from firms with over 500 employees — hardly representative of the corner shops the critics claim to champion." How does the writer respond to the critics?

Answer: By arguing that the critics' evidence does not fit the group they claim to be defending.

The writer attacks the critics' evidence. The figures come from large firms, so they do not represent the small shops the critics say they are protecting. Option A brings in support that is never mentioned. Option C is wrong because the writer does not accept the claimed burden. Option D is tempting because of the slight sarcasm in 'claim to champion', but the actual argument is about unrepresentative data, not about motives.

Read the passage: "The author's latest novel is, in many respects, her most ambitious. It is also, regrettably, her least readable — a book that seems more interested in being admired than in being enjoyed." Which word best describes the reviewer's overall attitude?

Answer: Qualified disapproval

The reviewer gives credit for ambition ('her most ambitious') but finds the book hard to read and more concerned with being admired than enjoyed. 'Regrettably' signals disappointment rather than contempt. The judgement is mostly negative but balanced, which makes it qualified disapproval. 'Hostile' is too strong given the praise, 'enthusiastic' ignores the criticism, and 'indifferent' does not fit a reviewer who clearly cares about the book.